Tom Cruise back on a Kawasaki for Top Gun 2

BIKES have changed a lot in the 33 years since Top Gun was filmed in 1985. Back then a Kawasaki GPZ900 was the fastest, sexiest bike that the movie-makers could put Tom Cruise on. But for the new sequel it seems Cruise has swapped the old GPZ for a Ninja H2R.

At least that’s what it looks like from the fuzzy, long-distance spy video showing a man claimed to be Cruise riding a camera-strewn sportsbike on a dusty airfield.

Cruise has confirmed that the long-awaited, and much-delayed, Top Gun sequel – called Top Gun: Maverick – is on the way. The project originally began back in 2010, under the directorship of Tony Scott, brother of Ridley, who also directed the original. However, his suicide in in 2012 left the project hanging in the balance. Now, though, the movie is believed to be in post-production.

According to the Hollywood rumour mill, the movie will also star Cruise’s nemesis from the original film, Val Kilmer.

The use of a Kawasaki Ninja H2R (the bike in the video lacks the bulky exhaust of the road-going H2) would be a good tribute to the original movie’s GPZ900. But look at how much motorcycling has changed: In 1985, the GPZ managed 113hp and an 11.18 second standing quarter. A modern Ninja H2 makes 210hp (326hp for the H2R) and does the ¼ mile in well under 10 seconds.